Drinking regular cups of green tea or coffee may help to protect against having a stroke, researchers said last night.
The Japanese researchers found a strong link between regular use of the two beverages and reduced risk of stroke.
They found this applied both to stroke and to bleeding in the brain.
The study of more than 80,000 adults found that drinking at least two cups of tea daily was liked to a 14% reduced risk of having a stroke – and four cups was linked to a 20% reduced risk.
People who drank one cup of coffee daily enjoyed a 20% reduced risk of stroke. Risk of bleeding in the brain was cut by about a third.
Writing in the Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association, the researchers say it is unclear how tea and coffee might cut the risk of stroke.
Researcher Dr Yoshihiro Kokubo, of the National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Center, Japan, said: "This is the first large-scale study to examine the combined effects of both green tea and coffee on stroke risks.
"The regular action of drinking tea, coffee, largely benefits cardiovascular health because it partly keeps blood clots from forming."
The Impact of Green Tea and Coffee Consumption on the Reduced Risk of Stroke Incidence in Japanese Population. Stroke 15 March 2013; doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.111.677500
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